Motorola Q from Sprint Review

The Size of the Q
I'll start with the dimensions of the Moto Q since this is the biggest draw of this phone. Officially, the Q is listed on Sprint.com at

4.6" x 2.5" x 0.45"
4.1 oz

I measured the phone at 4.55" x 2.6" x 0.5" and 4.4 oz. The weight difference could be due to a skin that was placed on my Q, an SD memory card, and an inaccurate scale. Basically, this is a very slim and lightweight phone.

The Q as a phone
The exposed QWERTY keyboard of the Q allows you to begin dialing right away. The white number keys are easily distinguishable from the other black keys. These small rounded keys are easy to press accurately. The number keys are backlit in entirety whereas the other keys have only the letters backlit. This makes the phone easy to dial in the dark. Texting is also a snap with the QWERTY. Of course, this means that the phone needs to be locked to prevent the dreaded pocket dialing. This can be accomplished by pressing home then spacebar. Unlocking is done by pressing Unlock softkey and asterisk. Very easy.

The voice quality is solid. The earpiece is clear and loud and the volume is adjusted with the jog dial on the right side. The voice quality is much better than Sprint's PPC6700 or a900 in comparison. The speakerphone can be turned on and off by a dedicated key on the keyboard and the speaker can blast. I have mine set to the quietest setting.

Battery life is the main drawback of all slim phones and the Q is no exception. In my use, the battery lasts 2 days on a single charge. I estimate my phone use to be 30 minutes/day talk time with Outlook pulling emails, 10 minutes of Internet, and LCD settings set to maximize battery life. This phone will need to be charged every night and a car charger or second charger at work is a good accessory.

I have not noticed any differences in signal strength with this phone compared to other Sprint phones. Since the Q can manage this without jabbing my pocket with an external antenna, I take this to be a good thing.

Pairing the Q with a Moto H700 was a snap. It has profiles for hands free, personal network, stereo headphone, and keyboard input. One advantage to pairing with a Moto headset is the shared mini USB plug. The built in voice dialing software works pretty well so most people will probably stick with this free solution.

The Q as a Smartphone
The Q runs Windows Mobile 5.0. The built in PIM functions are good enough for me although I'm not a business person. Outlook Mobile functions similarly to Outlook on the PC and can sync with your PC. There's a plethora of fields that you can fill in for your contacts. Some annoyances include the Calendar not staying in the Weekly View Mode that I prefer; instead it always shows the Daily View. Also, the Q's "desktop" will only show 1 upcoming appointment at a time. You'll need to buy 3rd party software such as Facade to show more appointments and make the Q a more powerful PIM.

Internet Explorer Mobile works well enough although it obviously has trouble displaying certain content. It's very handy for web-based email, weather, news, and mapping.

Windows Media Player Mobile works very well and can handle media files on your SD card as well as online such as streaming content. I like to listen to ESPN radio through thestreamcenter.com/pda

The Q can run rather sluggishly at times and curiously does not completely end programs when you close them. You need to go into the task manager and kill programs there for good to prevent a gradual resource drain and even slower performance.

Other Features of the Q

The Q's 1.3 MP digital camera is something that I have not used very much. It does have a flash and can shoot in movie mode.

An Infrared Data Port is included on the left side next to the memory card slot. This seems rather obsolete.

Sprint's Moto Q ships with the phone and a charger - that's it! Not even a carrying case. Some manuals and a CD round out the bare bones package.

Overall Design
The display is 2.4" across with a resolution of 320x240. It is very clear and colorful. Outdoor visibility is superior to the PPC6700 (that may not be saying much as my 6700's display was nearly invisible outside under sunlight). Although it is not a touch screen, the 4 way joystick, soft keys, and the jog dial are plenty for quick one handed navigation.

Overall, this is one of the most solid phones I've owned. It slips into my pants pocket or even shirt pocket unobtrusively.

Rating

9/10 based on the form factor, capabilities, and value ($99 for new Sprint users as of this review).

1 point taken away for sluggish performance, limited battery life (understandable), lack of WiFi, lack of anything included with the phone (may be Sprint only).